2019 J/111 World Champion: Rob Ruhlman’s Spaceman Spiff

Rob Ruhlman’s Spaceman Spiff took control of their own destiny on Friday, nailing both race wins to earn the title of 2019 J/111 World Champion. Coming into the final day, the Cleveland, OH-based team was in third overall, but Ruhlman and his crew of Marty Kullman (tactician), Doug Moose (mast), Abby Ruhlman (pit), Ryan Ruhlman (spinnaker trimmer), Maegan Ruhlman Cross (main trimmer), Jim Sminchak (headsail trimmer) and Mark Wiss (bow) ended with 25 net points in the eight-race series. Five points behind in second place was day-three leader Martin Roesch’s Velocity. Former World Champion Peter Wagner’s Skeleton Key came in third with 34 points. It was another wild day on Lake Michigan. PRO Becky Ashburn, summarized, "Winds were around 15 knots. Waves were three to four feet with a sideways swell, which made it really choppy." Under a champagne shower in the harbor, Ruhlman smiled, "I’m not sure this has sunk in yet! We have a great team, a great family. The competition was outstanding. I’m thrilled to be a part of this Class."

Top five:

  1. Spaceman Spiff, Rob Ruhlman - 1 -[14] -1 -10 -4 -7 -1 -1 ; 25
  2. Velocity, Martin Roesch - 8 -[12] -2 -1 -3 -6 -6 -4 ; 30
  3. Skeleton Key, Peter Wagner - 6 -[8] -4 -5 -7 -2 -4 -6 ; 34
  4. Kashmir, Michael Mayer / Steve Henderson - 13 -5 -7 -6 -1 -[16] -2 -2 ; 36
  5. Rowdy, Richard Witzel - 3 -[20] -9 -4 -2 -4 -10 -5 ; 37
    Twenty-three J/111s competed from August 20-23 at Chicago Yacht Club, including teams from Australia and Switzerland. Photos are available on the J/111 Class Facebook page, and complete results are posted at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=6143.
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Martin Roesch’s Velocity Speeds Up Leaderboard at J/111 World Championship

The seas on Lake Michigan were rocking and rolling on Thursday, as was the leaderboard at the J/111 World Championship, hosted by Chicago Yacht Club. Martin Roesch’s Velocity shot up to the chief position, posting a 1,4,6 on the day. The 23 J/111s have now completed six races, and the Championship will conclude Friday, including the discard taking effect after the seventh race. Peter Wagner’s Skeleton Key maintained consistent scores in the top 10, inching him up to second place with 34 points, only one behind Roesch. Rob Ruhlman’s Spaceman Spiff dropped to third but is still in the hunt with 38 points. Day one leader Andrew and Sedgwick Ward’s Bravo suffered a 13th in the day’s final contest, leaving them in fourth place, one tick behind Ruhlman. Waves reached five feet and higher, and breeze was 12 knots plus. Roesch began the day victoriously, ahead of local boat Momentus led by Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi and the Wards on Bravo. Chicago Yacht Club’s Michael Mayer & Steve Henderson guided Kashmir to success in the middle match, with Jorg Sigg’s Varuna and Richard Witzel’s Rowdy next. Rod Warren’s Joust prevailed in the final round, shadowed by Wagner’s Skeleton Key and Sigg. Photos are available on the J/111 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=6143.

Worth the Wait at J/111 World Championship

Following storms that rolled through Chicago on Tuesday, 23 J/111s had to wait a bit longer still on Wednesday to launch the 2019 J/111 World Championship, hosted by Chicago Yacht Club. Race one was abandoned due to lack of breeze and a severe shift, however winds eventually amped up to 12-14 knots, allowing three races for the hungry teams. Despite a pair of bullets by Rob Ruhlman’s Spaceman Spiff, it’s Andrew and Sedgwick Ward’s Bravo who ended the day at the front of the pack. The Bravo crew from Shelter Island, NY only placed in the top three once, but their scoreline of 7,3,5 for 15 points puts them one ahead of Spaceman Spiff who added a 14 for 16 total. Peter Wagner’s Skeleton Key snuck into third place with tallies of 6,8,4 and 18 points. Ruhlman’s Spaceman Spiff earned the first victory of the Championship in the day’s opening, and lightest, affair. Jeffrey Davis’ Shamrock and Richard Witzel’s Rowdy followed. Swiss sailor Jorg Sigg’s Varuna outdid the fleet in the middle race, with Douglas Curtiss’ Wicked 2.0 and Ward’s Bravo close behind. The Ruhlman family closed Wednesday the same way it started, trailed by Martin Roesch’s Velocity and Rod Warren’s Joust. Racing continues through Friday. Photos are available on the J/111 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=6143.

Ruhlman Family on SPACEMAN SPIFF Takes Pre-Worlds

As one of the largest offshore regattas in the Great Lakes, the Chicago Yacht Club’s Verve Cup Offshore has developed into a world-class regatta attracting many national and international competitors. From August 9-11, CYC hosted the 28th annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta in an array of weather conditions over the three-day event. On Friday, a post-frontal, shifty breeze from the northwest started at 15 knots, then quickly diminished and swung to the north-northeast by late afternoon in the 5-8 knots range. Saturday saw a light east-southeast wind slowly build after a one-hour onshore postponement into the 4-8 knots range, with 40-degree swings. Sunday dawned with the possibility of another frontal system with thunderstorms. Fortunately, the front moved south. Out on the lake, the wind started in the SSE quadrant in the 4-7 knots range, then swung SSW to 240 degrees and increased in pressure to 8-12 knots, before oscillating from 230 back to 190 for the last two races of the regatta. For the competitive 17-boat J/111 Pre-Worlds, the oscillating breezes produced a roller-coaster scoreline for the entire fleet, with not even the top three boats scoring all top five finishes. Starting fast on Friday was Rob Ruhlman’s family team on SPACEMAN SPIFF, leading after the first day with a 4-1-1-2 tally and a 10-point lead over Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK that had a 3-5-9-1 scorecard for 18 points. Sitting in third was Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY with a 1-8-5-6 for 20 points. The second day for the J/111s saw a few shifts in the scores, but little change for the top three. SHAMROCK posted a 3-3 (tied for the best record of the day with KASHMIR’s 1-5) to close the gap significantly with SPACEMAN SPIFF that posted an 8-4. The spread was now only 4 points. In the seventh and penultimate race on Sunday, SKELETON KEY nailed down a second, SPACEMAN SPIFF a fourth, and SHAMROCK sixth. Ruhlman got their lead back up to a six-point advantage. The final race was set for a 230 deg wind, but just before the start, it swung left to 190 deg. Nailing the start was SHAMROCK, rounding the weather mark first with SKELETON KEY in fourth and SPACEMAN SPIFF back in ninth. At that moment, SHAMROCK was winning both the race and the regatta. However, on that first run, the wind swung back slowly to 220 deg, and the tail-enders that had either sailed low or gybed made big gains, namely SPACEMAN SPIFF and SKELETON KEY. The ensuing windward leg saw even more lead changes. While the lead group of SHAMROCK, SKELETON KEY and KASHMIR stayed left, a breakaway pack behind them of four boats took off from the leeward gate on port, hitting the right corner hard. That move paid off huge, as the wind swung further right to the 230+ range with more breeze, and that group took 1-2-3 (UTAH, VELOCITY & ROWDY). Meanwhile, SHAMROCK dropped back to sixth, SPACEMAN SPIFF jumped up to seventh and SKELETON KEY secured a fourth. As a result, Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF team won the J/111 Pre-Worlds and also the overall trophy for the regatta: The Verve Offshore Cup Trophy. Second was SKELETON KEY and third SHAMROCK. For more Verve Cup Offshore information, visit https://www.vervecup.com/offshore.

Wicked 2.0 Passes Light Air Test in Edgartown

Light air became a challenge for racers and organizers at this year’s Edgartown Race Weekend hosted by Edgartown Yacht Club. The event’s most renowned of three events– the 56-mile Round-the-Island (RTI) race–started Saturday, July 27 in light breeze. Without making much progress in the first few hours, the EYC Race Committee elected to shorten course on the south side of the island for two-thirds of the fleet. Those boats completed a 25-mile course, while another nine boats sailed for 45 miles to finish near West Chop. For this year’s RTI race, there were 42 boats in eight classes, two of which were non-spinnaker. For the Round the Island race, leading a sweep of the podium and winning PHRF 2 Division was Doug Curtiss’ J/111 WICKED 2.0 with a corrected time of 8:15:26. For more Edgartown Race Week information, visit https://www.edgartownyc.org/club/scripts/section/section.asp?NS=RTI.

J/111s Control PHRF Division at Ugotta Regatta

Little Traverse Yacht Club in Harbor Springs, MI hosted its annual Ugotta Regatta from July 26-28. Two J/111s topped the PHRF A division, led by Bradley Faber's Utah who won both races. Carl Hanssen's Variance followed in second place after notching a 2,3 for 5 points. Complete results are available at https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=6163.

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